ASUU Rejects FG Loan Scheme for Tertiary Staff, Labels It ‘Poisoned Chalice’
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Calabar zone, has rejected the Federal Government’s Tertiary Institutions Staff Support Loan Scheme, describing it as a “poisoned chalice and unacceptable distraction.”
Speaking at a press conference in Uyo, Akwa Ibom, on Monday, Zonal Coordinator Ikechuku Igwenyi said the loan was another attempt to impoverish university lecturers instead of honouring the 2009 agreement.
He stressed that ASUU was not consulted before the loan scheme was introduced and condemned its stringent repayment conditions.
“The loan conditions are so harsh that even professors cannot repay a ₦10 million loan in 48 months. Having trapped students with NELFUND, the government is now attempting to cage their parents with this impossible scheme. We reject it in its entirety,” Igwenyi declared.
He accused the Federal Government of failing to keep to its promises, noting that it had refused to review or renegotiate lecturers’ conditions of service since 2009.
“The salary structure used to pay Nigerian university workers is about 17 years old and completely out of tune with today’s economic realities,” he added.
According to him, years of inadequate funding have left Nigerian universities in a state of decay, with weak, obsolete, and insufficient facilities.
Igwenyi disclosed that the government had invited ASUU’s leadership to a dialogue scheduled for 28 August, warning that the outcome of the meeting would determine the stability of universities in the country.
The briefing was attended by Happiness Uduk, immediate past zonal coordinator; Chidi Mba, chairperson, ASUU ABSU; and Frank Namso Ndareke, chairperson, ASUU AKSU, amongst others.
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